The Indispensable Actresses of the Golden Age

A reader writes in recommending her new blog, devoting to Carole Lombard. Which brings to mind on this sort of holiday Friday: Who, in your mind, according to your preferences, are the indispensable actresses of the Golden Age.

And by Golden Age, I mean the studio age, which means actresses who did their work — or their important work — before 1960.

All right, I’ll go first. Pick five. In alphabetical order, I’d say Greta Garbo, Ann Harding, Jean Harlow, Miriam Hopkins and Norma Shearer. And of course there are good reasons for all of them.